Unexpected
by ScarletMissCharlotte
Summary: One Shot


**Hello,**  
**I was not intending to post anything for a long time in fanfction world, after a huge ****loss in confidence in regards to my writing, among other things playing as a catalyst.**

**However, this one-shot popped back up in my inbox last night from my proof-reader. I had sent it to them back in early February. It turns out there were keeping hold of it as they felt unsure how to respond to something I have written within this fiction as it relates to something that had happened to me. So along with pointing out the odd little grammar mistake, I actually received an essay from my proof-reader, with their need to protect and rescue me from this little life I lead. One thing they noted was that I should stop hiding behind a fictional world and write in a more autobiographical sense as apparently I have a story to tell.**

**However, I prefer this fictional little bubble I live in, it is a lot safer in here.**

**I'm still uncertain whether or not I will continue with the two fictions I have left ****hanging at present. Time will tell.**

* * *

Unexpected

Standing at the gates of Holby South prison, Serena Campbell felt numb, she still didn't know why she was here, what possessed her to accept the visitation card, she ignored all previous ones. There had even been a ten-year gap when she did not hear from him. Yet, something triggered her to make this visit after so many years.

It all seemed like a blur the process of booking in, having her body and belongings searched, to putting her things in a locker. It felt like it did not happen, and as soon as she grasped a sense of reality, she found herself stood in the visitor's room, surrounded by criminals and their loving family visitors. Even though she had not seen him for forty years, she could pick out her father like a shot. She knew those eyes and she knew that smile. Cautiously she approached him, and sat in the chair opposite.

"Hello, sweetheart" his voice, although a little rougher than what she remembered, still sounded familiar to her.

She could not even look at him, not now she sat within reaching distance of him, "_Why_?" She muttered, "Why did you want to see me?"

"Why did ya come?" He asked dismissing her question; he was stubborn like that. "Sent you visiting orders for years, what made you come?"

Serena shot him a glare, although his voice familiar is tone of phrase was not, he never used to sound that common, his voice just old and common; "I, I need to know why you are here, in Holby, this town is not yours to live in, you do not belong here." Although that was a lie, she did not really know why she did come.

"Transferred, was happy staying in Northchurch, got transferred there, back in ninety-six... I had a nasty fall you see, developed a brain aneurysm, Doc said he were gonna operate. He was a good bloke, and then he left. Weren't gonna let myself be treated by no-one else. Found out his wife had died, then he got some fancy job at Holby. Had to fight tooth nail to get that Doc to see me again, turns out the git was having a bit of a breakdown, don't need the op after all, thinking of suing the twonk"

Serena looked at the man before her in disbelief, it truly sounded like a load of nonsense, and this mish-mash Yorkshire/Cockney accent that he had developed got more ridiculous by the minute. However, a small penny dropped, the story regarding the doctor, she knew of someone like that, who worked in the town the man before her spent seventeen years locked up in. "_Guy Self_"

"That's the bugger, took that CEO Job from ya"

"How do you know that?" Serena's eyes widened in shock,

"Got some friends who know this stuff, I have kept tabs on you, had to see how my cupcake did in life, I'm so proud of you Serena" he paused "_Rena.. _I"

"Don't call me that" Serena snapped, she didn't mind her mother using that term of endearment in non professional situations but this was different.

"I'm _still_ your dad" a truth from the seventy-three year old man named Daniel Redgrave.

"No, no you are not. Donald _is_ my father" Serena replied, her mother Adrienne married Donald five years after Daniel's arrest. They had met through work, and in 1979 after the marriage, Donald formally adopted Serena and then took his family to Glasgow, his hometown. Although Serena moved on in the eighties for University, her mother stayed with Donald in Glasgow to mid 1992, Serena always made fleeting visits.

"Ah, Donald McKinnie" Daniel smirked as he asked a question he already knew the answer to "How is the old boy"

"He died twenty-two years ago, car crash" Serena replied surprisingly honestly, but she held so much sorrow in her voice, she had seen Donald as her real father, he was there when she needed him.

"Your mother must have taken that badly"

"You do not bring her into this conversation. Don't you dare bring her into this" Serena shot him down, although her relationship with her mother wasn't perfect, she did love her mother and she held vivid memories of how broken her mother became after her father's arrests, how Adrienne had to struggle being scorned at by the people in the small village they lived in, in Surrey. In her adult live, although Adrienne never revealed why her father committed such an act that landed him with a jail sentence of forty-five years, Serena discovered some painful facts on her mother's part.

"She knows I'm here because I was protecting you, I may have destroyed our lives. Nevertheless, I am here because I had to kill those men because they hurt _my_ little girl"

"You are sick, nothing happened to me. You are here because you lost it and for no reason went on a rampage against our neighbours"

"Serena, you don't remember do you? Or is that the story your mother told you"

"Stop talking about my mother in that tone. You have no idea what she went through"

"I know she lost the baby, the boy, your brother. Just weeks after I got arrested" Daniel replied, "Your mum and I, we stay in touch"

Serena felt her world crashing, none of this could stand true, but how else would he know such details, how did he know about her career? So many questions raced through her mind, but a large part of her did not want to find the answers.

"... Tried to appeal years back, new laws and all, but I messed up, keep messing up, some bastards in this place" Daniel added, that was true, he had tried to appeal the case, but after a nasty disagreement with a prison guard, Daniel used his fists and ended up with an extended sentence. ".. Serena you need to realise, I am here because of you"

"You said' Serena shrugged, "Nice to know you blame me for _your_ failings. You killed two people a young teenager and his father. That is why you are here"

"Rena" Daniel raised his voice a little "They were touching you inappropriately, my eight year old daughter, _you_. They were harming _you_, I had to protect you, and it's something I'd do again if I had to keep you safe"

Letting out a nervous laugh, Serena's eyes told a different story to the words that came out of her mouth, "You are vile, and how dare you make such excuses..."

Daniel could see he touched a nerve, and he knew from an early age that Serena could give a good fight and instead of trying to get his daughter to believe him, he changed tactics. "You really did get the Redgrave eye twinkle"

"My god, you just... You are game playing, you are _unbelievable_" shaking her head, it dawned on Serena as to why she finally made this visit, "I actually thought, that I could get absolution from you, my dad disappeared from my life, people called us scum, I lost friends. I have many loose ends in my life, and maybe just _maybe_ I thought we could close this chapter. However, you, you are the low of lows. The day you ended up behind bars, I stopped being a Redgrave; I stopped being your daughter. I will never let myself ever be known as your daughter"

"Serena"

"No, just no. Why is it that ninety percent of the men in my life are hell-bent on making my life difficult?"

"We're flesh and blood; no one can take that from us. I got a few years left in here. I want to leave this place knowing I can see my daughter, see my granddaughter."

" You will _never_ see Eleanor," Serena snapped, disliking the fact he knew Eleanor existed. "She doesn't know who you are, you are a '_nobody'_, and that is how it is staying"

"I won't give up on us making up for lost time, for not being there for you when you went through difficult times"

"I didn't need you then, I don't need you now" Serena spat and she stood up rather hastily, "If I ever find you try to contact my daughter I will make sure she knows who and what you really are"

Almost shaking with anger, with hate and the need to protect her own child from the monster before her, Serena walked away from her father. Instant regret flooding her mind for making this visit, it felt better to pretend Daniel never existed, it felt safer to always call Donald her father, he was the man who was always there for her, a man who was a fantastic father figure in her life.

Ii - ~~ - iI

Feeling deflated, confused, and uncertain, Serena found herself sat on the bench in the cloakroom area to the Prison's Visitors Centre, her belongings in hand. The past hour had a real impact on her, more than she ever thought it would.

Forty years, she resented that man, her father. She believed he was the devil, but now she was not sure. She could not understand it, she did not seem to hold the memories, if something so tragic had happened in her childhood, she would remember such distasteful events? It just did not make sense in her mind and it worried her. Her father could still be that devil, invented a sick twisted story to excuse his crimes, or he could have told her the truth and he was protecting her.

A woman who must have been at least half her age came at sat beside her, "I take it as you are the _'Serena Campbell' _" she smiled in a friendly attempt to make conversation.

It took a while for Serena to respond, but when she did, she just turned to face the young woman and glared, almost feeling as if her reputation as a top Consultant had found itself in tatters.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to..." The woman sighed, "I'm Claire ..."

Serena responded, "How do you know who I am?"

" My hubby, he is friends with Daniel"

"Friends with a murderer, some standards he's got" Serena sniped.

"He ain't all bad, helped my Bobby learn to read, twenty-three in the nick, no hopes. Your dad worked a miracle on him, school failed him..."

Serena rolled her eyes to that statement, as Claire continued.

"My Bobby just wants to become a better Dad to our little girl. I'm about to start my rotation as a fresh-faced F1" Claire was a few years older than Bobby, and had fallen for the man behind the lack of intelligence and fraud charge, "Daniel, told Bobby that he had a daughter, and that I should, if I ever get the chance, work under her wing, because she _is_ the best"

Serena snorted, "That may just be so, but that man, he is _no_ father of mine"

"He's a seventy-three year old man, with a few years left to serve"

This prompted Serena to glare once more, of course, these were facts she knew, keeping her feelings and reactions contained, Serena responded. "I'm not an idiot, now if you don't mind, and I have to go. I have wasted enough of my time as it is"

"You would not be here, if you did not at least care" Claire stated before Serena was fully out of sight.

Inside Serena seethed, how dare Daniel talk of her to other people, he didn't know her, a lot had changed from the eight small years that her father brought her up in, she wasn't the same little girl anymore, but a grown woman holding resentment, confusion and hatred. Nothing made sense other than to walk away from this place, forgot the people forget Daniel. She wanted to phone her mother, scream and shout at her for lying to her, but really what was the point, what would she gain from it all, the years of deception had already been and gone.

Ii - ~~ - iI

Sitting in her car in silence, something her father had said started to niggle away at her. They were parts of her childhood that she had blocked out, pieces of her life puzzle that were lost. Yet in her silence, in the echo of her father's words, Serena started to see various images from that very day, until those events vividly appeared in her mind. May 7th 1974, the day her world changed.

_An eight-year-old girl, with such innocence walked the streets of Surrey; she had played in the park with friends until she got bored. Young Serena Redgrave skipped along the back alleys towards her house and found herself confronted by her fifteen-year-old neighbour Antony. He towered over her, he was very tall for his are, much like his father._

_"Hey scamp"_

_"Go away" Serena tried to push past him, but he kept jolting from side to side stopping her from doing so. The back garden gate to her home was only a few metres behind him._

_"You're such a pretty girl" Antony replied, crouching down grabbing her by the arms._

_"Ow you are hurting me" Serena found herself in almost tears as this boy held her arms tight, a second figure came up behind her, and rubbed their hand through her long brown hair._

_"Now, now poppet" Simon, Antony's father spoke, they had only lived on the street for a month. Just the two of them, Simon had told people his wife, Antony's mother died in childbirth. "You are such a pretty girl"_

_"I want to go home, leave me alone" Serena held a defiant attitude, even at eight; she was not going to cry, show full weakness. She knew her father was in the back garden, creating a small fishpond. "Da.."_

_She tried to shout out but Simon covered her face, "Shhhh now"_

_Antony's hand slipped their way under Serena's dress, touching her inappropriately; he seemed to get so much pleasure from it, as did his father. In pain, in fear, Serena had no choice but to bite down on to the thumb that gagged her._

_"You little shit" Simon bellowed, "You're gonna get it now" he pulled his hand away, Serena let out a piecing scream, but Antony still wouldn't remove his hands from her, he wasn't quite finished yet._

_These loud voices prompted Daniel to come out from his garden, still holding his garden shovel. Serena caught sight of her father, "Daddy" she wailed as the forced fingers gripped further inside her._

_The horror on Daniel's face stood paramount, terrified for his daughters wellbeing. Protective of his child, without thinking he took the shovel to Antony's head hitting him constantly, before turning to Simon and doing the same. He just wanted those monsters away from his daughter, his little angel. Daniel reacted without thinking of the consequences, Serena just looked at her father, in complete shell shock, she could not cry, she just silently cried. The young child unsure of what had happened only knew that this was not a good thing._

_"Serena, get inside. Go to your room" Daniel spoke as woman who lived in the house opposite the back of his home came out to see that this commotion was. Daniel had hoped to clean this up quietly, but now it seemed his fate stood sealed he had murdered Antony and Simon Allen._

A fresh flow of tears streamed down her face, she had buried that day deep down inside her, locked any recollection to her abuse, to witnessing her father committing murder. She hated him for so many years and she dissociated herself with the 'Redgrave' family name. She grew up as a McKinnie, later a Campbell. No one knew of her childhood, and now all she could feel was guilt, her father had spent forty years in jail, for her and she had just dismissed his claims and attempts to make amends for the years they had lost.


End file.
